Leak at Consumers Co-op refinery in Regina; workers told to leave as precaution

REGINA – A leak at the Consumers Co-op refinery in Regina forced almost 1,200 workers from the site Thursday.

Company spokesman Brad DeLorey said the leak was detected about 11 a.m. and evacuation alarms were sounded as a precaution.

DeLorey said no one was hurt and nothing was released into the environment.

The leak was small and crews were able to quickly isolate it, he added.

An investigation into the leak has begun.

DeLorey estimated that operations would be back to normal by Thursday afternoon.

“We are now depressurizing the unit and we have sent our contractors home for the day,” he said.

Earlier this year, Consumers Co-operative Refineries Ltd. was fined after pleading guilty to one of five charges in a 2011 explosion at the facility that injured 52 people.

Last November, the company ordered an evacuation after a leak was detected in one of the plant’s coke drums.

There have been four fires at the refinery since 2011.

The company says its Regina complex is one of the largest petroleum-refining facilities in Canada.

(CJME, CKRM, The Canadian Press)